Cause and Effect
by sg76
Summary: If Hinata wasn't disowned. If he hadn't lived a life of torture. If they didn't go to a school where money was everything. Maybe they wouldn't have fallen in love. Not your typical highschool fanfic. AU.
1. The Beginning

**A/N- Hey guys! So this is my first fanfiction that I am completely serious about. I've spent forever writing this chapter so here it is.**

**Cause and Effect**

_Chapter 1- How it Started_

"Bye Hinata!"

"See you later, , thanks again!"

She ignored me as she drove away. I sighed and shook my head. No matter how many times I tried to thank my favorite teacher, she always brushed it off. She was the closest thing I had to a mother since my mom died four years ago. Trying to push down the grim memories that resufaced, I walked up to my destination.

Hidden Leaf Laundry. My first(and current) job. I just started a little over a week ago. Before, I wouldn't have even considered getting a job. Not because I'm lazy or spoiled, I used to help the maids at the Hyuuga mansions clean and cook for the whole house, and while I didn't like to use my fathers' money it would mean taking a job someone else would need. But now I needed it or by next month I'd be sleeping on the street.

I sighed again, thinking about my sudden financial problems and the events that led up to them. The tinkle of a bell pulled her out of her pity party.

"Oh, Hinata, I wasn't expecting you today."

"Hi Mr. Sarutobi, I needed the overtime but if you don't need me I'll go," I said to Asuma Sarutobi, my boss.

"Not at all, Hinata, you know your always welcome here," he replied, with a warm smile on his face.

"Thank you, ," I said, bowing my head. Just like , I was blatantly ignored. I swear they have a conspiracy on me. He just took a lighter and piack of cigarettes from seemingly no where and lit one up.

" Be warned, there are a ton of clothes today." he said, gesturing towards the back room. Of course there was, it was Friday, which meant that all of the main customers (students) wanted to get "clean the clothes" off of the to-do list as soon as possible. My school? The Hidden Leaf Acadamy for the Gifted. It **should** be called The Hidden Leaf School for The Rich and Cocky. On children who are considered "prestigous" come here A.K.A. filthy dirty stinking rich. It caters to teens in grades 9-12 and has an option to live on campus for a "cheap monthly fee", which includes almost everyone, people from all over the world come to my school. I thought about my unique friends as I quickly sorted through the dirty clothes. My best friend, Kiba Inuzuka, I had known since the third grade, when we were paired up for a group science project, along with my other best friend Shino Aburame. Though I tried to reveal as little as possible about my life, they **always **knew when something was bothering me. My friends that happen to be girls, Sakura, Ino and Tenten were a little less observant. Only Tenten had once asked if I was okay, probably since my cousin(her boyfriend) told her I was going through some . . . . personal issues.

"Hey, Hinata!"called Sarutobi-sensei.

"Yes?" I said, runnin to the front desk where he was often stationed.

"I have swim team tryouts today, so I'll need you to lock up."

"Sure thing" I looked at the clock, only 4:25. Did he really need an hour to get ready for tryouts? You might be thinking, why a grown man wants to watch high school boys try out for swim team, but he kinda has to. He's the assistant gym teacher at H.L. The other gym teacher is Kakashi Hatake, who also taught AP Chemistry.

The bell dinged as I watched him leave. While this wasn't my first time in the shop alone, I really hoped nobody from school came in. Sarutobi-sensei usually handled all of the customer interactions. No one at H.L.A. had ever had a job. High school was hard enough without being a poor girl in a school filled with rich snobs.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I was halfway done with the massive pile of laundry ,but if I worked anymore I would collapse. I pulled out some Gatorade from my backpack and sat at the front desk. I zoned out for a little while, thinking about the calculus homework and five page waiting for me at home, due tomorrow.

"_Ding!"_

I jumped off the stool.

"Hey, sorry, didn't mean to scare you," said a concerned face from the other side of the counter. A very familiar face. A very handsome face. I blushed when I realized who was standing in front of me.

Naruto Uzumaki, wearing cargo shorts, a plain white T, a gray hoodie and three overstuffed bag of clothes. I internally groaned( at the thought of more laundry) and sighed( except dreamily this time)

"N-No! I'm fine, just zoned out for a bit," I said while shaking my head. Naruto Uzumaki, my crush since 1st grade, has just seen me, Hinata Hyuuga, stinky and sweaty and dirty, working in this, admittedly crummy laundromat. Maybe he won't remember me?

"Hey, your Hinata right? I haven't seen you in a while."

I paled. There goes that idea.

"Yeah, um, what can I do for you?"

"Oh no, I'll just wait for the worker to come out . . ." his blue eyes looked behind me towards the back room.

"Um, I can take these from you," I said, thoroughly embarresed, and pretty sure it showed on my face.

"You work here?" he said, the look of surprise on his face priceless,''most people who go to our school are to lazy to even tie their own shoelaces," he said staring at me.

"Yeah, well I need the money . . ." I said, his intense gaze making me feel uncomfortable.

"I know what you mean," he said, looking away.

I was my turn to look surprised. But then I remembered. Naruto was basically a publicity stunt. One of a group of orphans, accepted to show the "generosity" of the school. The reason he got scholarships into Hidden Leaf Elementary and Middle was because of Principal Sarutobi and Dean Tsunade had a liking to him. He used to b horribly bullied, because of his second-hand uniform and scrappy shoes. He wasn't exactly the brightest bulb back then,he always made me smile. Even when he wasn't trying to. Two boys were mad at me. My father just fired two associates, their fathers. Even though we were in the middle of the playground, during recess, Naruto was the only one who protected me.

"Well, these are kind of heavy, show me where I can put them," he said, his face flushed.

"Sure," I said, startled out of my reverie. I quickly showed him to the backroom. He whistled.

"Looks like you've got your hands full, is there anyone else here that can help you?"

"No, just me."

"Hmm, I can help you, if you-"

"No!" I cut him off, "I'm fine" He turned and gave me a long calculating look.

"If you say so. . ." he said nonchalantly.

I led him to the front, so I could give him his ticket(to pick up his laundry). I watched his retreating back as he left.

I blushed as I realized I'd have to wash Naruto's underwear.

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My brow furrowed as I walked away from Coach Sarutobi's little laundromat. Hinata looked really tired in there, maybe I could help her out before-

My phone interuppted me before I could finish that thought. I pulled it as I reached the school gates.

**Alarm 1-Swim Practice in 5 minutes**

All thoughts of Hinata vanished as I blindly raced towards the gym.

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"Swimmers, take your mark," Coach Asuma stated.

I began to regulate my breathing and started my pre-swimming routine. Instead of chlorine water below me, I pretended the pool was filled with warm miso pork ramen. Yummmm . . .This was always the hard part. I didn't want to jump in before Coach blew the whistle, or I'd lose. So I'd have to think of someone that I'd feel bad about hurting. Well . . .every female I knew can (and has) beat me up. Oi, what about Hinata! I've known her for years and she's never hit me.

"Get set,"

The thought of Hinata's arms around his chest, holding him back, made his cheeks get warm.

_Phhhhhhiiiiiii! _The whistle blew.

_Splash!_

At least the lukewarm ramen removed the evidence of his thoughts.

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"Good work today Naruto!"

"Thanks Coach," I replied, exhausted. I began my long trek to my dorm room. I won the three of four races I competed in, duckbutt making me drop to second in one race. But my thoughts soon turned to a different direction. Hidden Leaf Laundry, or rather, it's one worker.

Well, she was pretty. My face scrunched up at that thought. Pretty, well it fit her, but I could think of others too. Kind, smart, generous, pretty, and no to mention, hard-working. Wait, I said pretty again. While I knew my friends who happened to be girls weren't ugly, I never thought anyone but Sakura was pretty. . .

Well it's not as if I thought it was **bad** that she was pretty. I actually quite liked it. That's not weird at all. Guys are allowed to have pretty friends. Right?

I remember when we were six, five fourth-graders beat me up after-school. It hurt so much, I couldn't even breathe without groaning in pain. My vision was blurring but the last thing I saw before I blacked out were kind Hyuuga eyes. When I woke up, I was propped in a stool at Ichiraku's. Bandages and sticky stuff were all over my body.

"Oi, Naruto, you're finally up!" said Ayame, the daughter of the resturaunt manager.

" Hey Ayame, did you do this?" I asked, pointing to my body, when I had orientated myself.

"Kick your butt or put you back together again, cause you know I could do both." she said with a wicked grin on her face, pounding her fists together. I just rolled my eyes.

"Neither," she replied," your friends brought you like that . . . here the girl asked me to give that to you." She handed me a huge jar filled with sweet, lavender sticky stuff, like the stuff under my bandages.

"Who was it?"

"Hey, are you gonna let you ramen get cold?" she said, trying changing the subject. And suceeding.

Since that day I thought it was Hinata. She was the only Hyuuga without hard, uncaring eyes. I had used the ointment for years until it ran out. It had taken away my pains more than I can count. I never even thanked her, I thought as I changed into my pajamas. I'll make it up to her, was the last thing I thought before I fell into a restful, solid sleep.

**A/N- Ha ha ha. . . sorry for the longness. I've put a lot of work into this and I'd appreciate if you reviewed! Come on now you want to! ; )**

'**Till next chapter!**


	2. Pick Up Day

**A/N- Hey guys. This is pathetic. Sorry for the super long delay. Lot of crazy stuff has happenend since I last updated. Anyways, if you don't remember anything, you should read the last chap. Hope you like this! **

**Chapter 2**

**Sunday**

Naruto gasped, breaking the water's surface. He heard laughing and was soon pushed back under.

"_I'm gonna drown. They're gonna kill me. And then pee on my grave," _he thought. _"I'm gonna die at the hands of children."_

Naruto, even as a child thought that if he was murdered, it would be at the hand of bitter grown-ups. Not by stupid 2nd graders that still ate glue. Kids that thought torturing a kindergartener was as fun as a new video game. Naruto could already imagine it. They would continue to hold him under. His lungs would begin to burn, until it was unbearable. He would open his mouth and warm, green, bacteria-filled water would fill his mouth, his throat, and finally, his lungs. Then, he'd die.

His thoughts soon became reality. Naruto opened his eyes just as the liquid began choking him. He coughed, giving the water more access to his mouth. His movements weakened as the water forced it's way past his nostrils. His vision became blurry until it faded to black.

I sat up in my bed, panting hard. It's funny how memories could haunt you. It took me five minutes to convince myself that I was safe. That (most) people no longer wanted to pee on my grave. I thought back to the afternoon that changed my life.

It was a week or two after that I would have started school. You know, if I didn't live in the Konohagakure Forest. That day, after on the streets begging while the normal kids were in school (roughly 8 hours), I had enough for a decent dinner. I started the long trek towards the forest, next to Ichiraku's. Two older kids grabbed me from behind and beat me to a pulp, then blindfolded me, before I could walk three steps. I stumbled away but they just kept hitting me when I tried. After 23 escape failures, I couldn't walk. My five year-old body couldn't handle anymore. They dragged me on the concrete and I heard a gate open. They picked me up and dropped me. The blindfold came off mid-flight and five thoughts entered my mind.

We were in a very nice backyard

My money was falling out of my pocket

I was sailing toward a pool

The pool was horribly dirty, yuck

I don't know how to swim

You know the rest. I woke up in some fancy bedroom with some old man. Long story short, he was the Superintendent of Konoha County. He managed to get me a welfare apartment and entrance into private school. By then, everyone had already formed cliques, and I couldn't seem to find my place. That didn't change until 7th grade when I impressed everyone with my awesome football skills. A story for another time.

I got up and stretched in my small but comfy, new dorm. It was messy. Five empty instant ramen cups, two piles of dirty clothes and a sloppy stack of comics, but it was liveable. I got dressed and went to Kiba's room. He and some blonde chick were crashed on his couch. I looked at the TV and saw the menu for that chick flick, Eclipse. I quietly chuckled and took a picture on my phone of me in front of the sleeping couple and one with Kiba's car keys in my hands. I walked out with the keys in hand, texting him the picture. He'd be pissed but oh well. Maybe I'll give him a scooby snack.

I had a lot of stuff to do today. Between the nine page research paper due on Monday (not even started),continue job searching, grocery shopping and I want to try to hit the pool for more practice. Plus I had to pick up my laundry. Might as well do that now. I waited for the school gates to open before driving Kiba's black Mustang through the opening. As I made the left to the laundromat, I thought of Hinata. I felt my cheeks grow warm at the thought of her.

Hmm, that's weird. Am I sick? No, I felt fine. I looked at my face in the rearview mirror to see my cheeks flaming red. Whatever, I'm already here and I feel great. I got out of the car feeling an unexplainable anxiousness. The door dinged as I walked in.

Naruto walked into a still room. The only sound was the constant whirr of a fan.

"Hello?" The boy said. He was met with silence.

"Hell-oooo-oooo" he sang

He heard a murmur come from the back of the building. He slowly walked towards the voice,cautious. He passed the backroom that was once filled with dirty clothes, now held neat bags and hangers of bright, clean clothes. He could hear the sound of a radio coming from a side room. As he poked his head through the doorway, he saw a very attractive girl, with shiny indigo hair and clear, pale skin, sprawled on a shabby, brown couch. Naruto's cheeks redenendat the sudden urge to run his hands through her hair.

_She is so beautiful. Perfect._ He thought.

Then she snored. And I'm not talking about the quiet snore that lulls you to sleep. I'm talking about the **I'm-a-chain-smoking-73-year-old-man-with-sleep-achneia **snore. He burst out laughing.

"HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"

"What?" exclaimed Hinata, shooting up from her former position. Naruto quickly composed himself.

"Hey there Hina-chan!"

"Oh Naruto! What are you doing here?" she replied, her face instantly turning red. She brought her hand up to her face, discreetly checking for drool.

"Picking up my laundry."

"Okay, I finished it last night." she replied tiredly

"Why were you sleeping?"  
>"I, uh, feel asleep after doing the laundry was finished,"<p>

"Figures, Coach Sarutobi should hire someone to help you with all this,"

"Oh, no it's not a problem. . .,"

"Man, Hina-chan, I admire you. Even without a job, I get mediocre grades at best. Especially Calculus. I haven't even started the research paper yet!" he proclaimed adamantly.

Hinata blushed as her still sleepy mind processed this. Hinata blinked. She blinked again. And once more.

"Shit fucks!" She exclaimed.

Naruto just looked at her, confused and more than a little surprised.

" I didn't do my homework! I'm gonna fail my classes and I'm gonna have to repeat school! That's IF I don't get kicked out first. Oh My God! What am going to-"

"Whoa, whoa, Hinata, calm down, it's going to be O-KAY!" Hinata continued to hypervenilate but was calming down by the second.

"Okay, well, here, um, why don't I go to my dorm and bring you my laptop and my calculus homework. That way you can copy my homework and do your paper!" Naruto said, proud of his fantastic idea.

"What about the laundry? I'll just have to pull an all-nighter to fini-"

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'll take care of that for you"

"I don't think-"

"Be right back Hina-chan!" he said, walking out of the small room. Seconds later the "ching-ling" of him exiting sounded.

When Naruto got back to the Konoha Laundry, Hinata was hypervenilating once again. This time it took Naruto nearly three minutes to calm her down.

"Alright, why don't you show me the machines?" Naruto said, all business. Hinata gave him a breif but detailed tour of the machinery and how to use them.

"Don't worry Hinata-chan! This'll be a a bowl of ramen! Done in the blink of an eye," Naruto said winking.

"Right." Hinata said looking grimly determined.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo OoOoOoOoOoO

It has been four hours since we talked to each other, if you didn't count Naruto's ridiculous pop singing. He had no concept of tune, but I still liked to listen to his voice. I heard him sing the final notes of "One More Night" by Maroon 5 when he came into the small break room. I continued typing for two more minutes, noticing he was staying in the doorway, just _**staring.**_

"Ah, do you need something Naruto-kun?"

"What?" Naruto said looking dazed.

"Oh, nothing at all Hina-chan!" he said, grinning furiously and scratching his cheek. Just as he was turning around to leave we heard a furious noise.

_**Grrrrraaaaaaaaahhhhhhhp.**_

". . . Was that. Your stomach?"

". . .Yes, I think it was. . ."

I burst into laugther at his silly stomach while he laughed nervously. I got up from my seat on the comfy couch and walked to him.

"Let's go eat Naruto-kun,"

_WHY am I SUCH a loser! I mean really even this is a bit much. She's sitting down, in sweats, with her hair tied up, on a computer. That was all it took to get me to start ogling her. I was GOING to ask her if she wanted ramen, but I HAD to get wrapped up in her beauty. And of COURSE my stomach had to go all weird on me. Gosh, she's pretty though. Hmm, I'm so glad I can say that my friends are not only awesome but extremely pretty. Well at least two of them, no three, can't leave out Teme. **snickers**_

"Naruto-kun?"

"How can I be of assistance Hina-hime?" I stopped walking and bowed to her like some kind of butler, while she giggled lightly.

"Ano, do you mind if we go to Barbeque for Linner?" she said softly.

"Linner? And what's that?" We continued walking.

She gave me an incredulous look. "You know, the meal between Lunch and Dinner."

"You mean Dunch?" I asked, even more confused.

"Dunch?"

A very muscular arm closed onto my neck and before I knew it I was pulled into a very secure chokehold from behind.

"Of course he would think that. Funny how it rhymes with Dunce,"

"Gah-, What the hell?" I said as Kiba released me.

"Hi Hinata!" he said cheerily.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"Hello Naruto," he said, a deadly glint in his eyes," you smell a lot like Hinata today."

"Wha! Um well you know!"

I knew I could take on Kiba if it came to a fight, I'd done it before. But when it comes to Hinata, Kiba was ruthless. He'd have Shino, Neji, Sakura plus himself on my ass in minutes. Matter of fact, Lee would probably join in just for the fun.

" Oh you know Hinata, I just remembered that thing I have to do, in the middle of a very busy place with lots of witnesses soooo I'll just see you around later, kay? Byyyyyeee!" I said, my slow pace turning into a run. This wasn't a retreat. It's a strategic withdrawl. Yeah strategic.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo OoOoOoOoOoO

I sweatdropped as I watched Kiba howling with laughter on the concrete.

"Payback's a bitch Naruto!" he shouted. I scowled at him as I saw a group of kids stare at us across the street.

"Oops?"

My phone started to vibrate in my back pocket.

**Fr: Naruto-kun**

**Will meet u at secret place (insert sneaky winking). Go 2 BBQ. I will lock doors for another hour. U need rest and I need protection. Lol ttyl**

I texted him back as Kiba tried to see who I was talking to.

**To: Naruto-kun**

**Aren't u hungry too?**

The reply was quick.

**From: Naruto-kun**

**Don't worry, I hide at least ten cup ramens on my person at all times. ; -)**

Oh Gosh. I didn't even want to think where he hid them. In public at least.


End file.
